Rowing-gear



(No Model.) L. A. 000K.

' fi ROWING GEAR? No. 252,432. Patented Jan. 17,1882.

' 02. 6666? -QIN.VE?#%R ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

yROWlNG-GE AR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 252,432, dated January1'7, 1882. Application filed June 1 1, 1881. (No model.) I i To all whomz'tmay concern:

Be it known that I, LEEDS A. COOK, a citizen of the United States,resident of Hanover, in the county of Jackson and State of Michigan,have invented a ncw and valuable Int provementinRowingGears; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the construction and operation ofthe same, referencebeing bad to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specilication,and to the letters and figurcsot' reference marked thereon. t

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of a plan view of my devicFig. 2 is a rear view, showing the car raised out of the water.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view, showingthe oar in the water. This invention relates to improvements in devicesfor propelling row-boats; and it consists in a construction whereby therower can face the bow of the boat, and at the same time lift the oareasily from .the water attlie tinish, as hereinafter set forth.

Heretofore in the class of devices oi this kind where the rower facesthe bow there has been no easy means for the equivalentfof t'eathering,so that the oar can be readily withdrawn for the recover without lossgo'f speed by back-pressure on the blade. In stich old devicessufficient support has not been given to the bearing of the our at thegunwale, so as to relieve the rower of much of its weight. In thepresent device these objects are obtained. A broad fullbearing isatl'orded the oar during its sweep, and an easy withdrawal of the bladeat the end ot-the' stroke.

In the annexed drawings, the letter a rep- Held by journ als f g inthese bearin gs is a rockshaft, 0, arranged lengthwise the boat, fromwhich shaft, at its end e,.diverges outwardly and. forwardly the curvedrest It, and inwardly and forwardly the curved brace 7c, the formerlonger thanthe latter. Secured near its ends to those of the rest andbrace is an obliquelyarranged cross bar, l, which is fastened torock-shaft e where it crosses the'latter, and is on the angle the carwould have when at the beginning of the stroke, thereby forming anabutment. Attached firmly to the inner end, or, of this cross-bar l is alooped couplingstrap, a, between the open ends p of which is pivoted theinner end of the oarq. This latter extendsout over the brace,rock-shaft,and rest, having its bearing on the latter two throughout its entiresweep.

Secured loosely to the outer end, 0', of crossrearward, carries betweenits forks t the pivoted outer end, a, of the hand-lever v. This lever 12is swiveled by bolt to to the oar q, and extends inboard, so that thehand-gra p x is at the proper position For the rower.

From this description it will be readily seen that the oar moves withthe hand-levegand not in opposite directions, like the blade andhand-grasp of an ordinary oar. This enables the rower to face the bowand see where he is going. The car has a good rest during the whole ofthe stroke, relieving the oarsman of the weight, and at the finish bypressing down on the hand-lever the rock-shaft turns, bringout even theslight back-pressure of feathering. There are to be two of these deviceson other accompanying features, forms a jointed oar easily and quicklymanaged with slight fatigue.

-1 claimt The combination of oar q, hand-lever o, swiveled together,rock-shaft 0, rest It, and brace connected to the shaft and extendingforwardly, connecting-rod s, and couplingstrap n, as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

' LEEDS ALLEN COOK. Witnesses:

JAMES D. KNIGHT, O. B. Jonsson.

bar I is a connecting-rod, s, which, ex'tending ing the blade out of thewater clean and withopposite sides of the boat for each rower, and asmany pairs as the style of boat demands: This arrangement of oar andlever, with the

